N+1-2= Sasha's New Moots Vamoots DISC RSL
My justification for *another* new bike:
I’ve been through a lot of bikes in the short time I’ve been riding which you can read about that here if you want the long version. The bike I’ve kept the longest is Luna, my Felt FR2W because she is nearly perfect in every way. The only complaint I have is that the rear brake is located underneath the chainstay, which is supposed to eliminate a negligible amount of drag or something like that but I find it to be a total hassle. Dirt and other stuff that gets kicked up from your riding surface gets stuck in there way too easily and makes the brake stick. In wet weather, I have basically no stopping power at all and it’s kinda sketchy. It’s also a real pain to clean and if you are doing any maintenance on that brake, you need to remove the drive side crank arm to access it.
After riding and racing Luna for a couple years, I decided that I wanted a bike with brakes that were more reliable and less of a hassle. I also got this crazy idea that I wanted to go from a carbon fiber frame to titanium because I figured it would be more durable and still lightweight. After a lot of searching, I couldn’t find what I wanted in a size small enough that would work for me. Luna is a 43cm, the smallest size Felt makes. Some of my teammates recently purchased various frames from Moots and built up their own bikes (click for links to their various builds: Leah, Yosef, Rod, Clay, Cullen, Clark, Matt, Tom). Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t fit on any of their bikes so I played 20 questions with each of them instead. Basically everyone said the same thing: Moots makes great bikes and I could customize however I wanted.
The Bike Fit at ACME Bicycle Co
Bikes can be expensive and I knew that I would be spending a pretty penny to get everything I wanted. I have gotten a bike fit once a long time ago and basing this purchase solely off a bike fit was taking a leap of faith because I really had no idea what the finished product would ride like. Going off of hearsay was really scary. That’s why I went to ACME Bicycle Co.
Testing out different bike positions.
Scheduling a bike fit was very easy on their website. You can choose to book with Colin (in Katonah) or Jon (in Brooklyn)… both are excellent (as I have discovered). I had the privilege of being a model in one of their promotional videos doing a mock bike fit so I was excited to see what a real one would be like. They have this really cool machine bike thingy (I think they call it a Guru DFU 2.0) that actually changes positions while you ride so you can really feel which is the most comfortable for you. Colin changed the settings so I was really scrunched up and then really elongated to show me the difference and the feelings that I should look out for as we tried to find my perfect fit.
They also have this gadget (they call it a seat cleat) that allows you to test multiple saddles really quickly. I must have tried 6 different saddles that day which was really cool because I have never found a way to test a saddle other than buying one or borrowing from a friend. Colin was very thorough. He even looked at my feet to see if my cleats were positioned correctly and if I should use orthotics. Once all the data was collected, he put it in the system and it generated which frame size should be ordered. I was really lucky that I fit a stock size. If I wanted to slam my bars one more ring down, I would have needed to order custom geometry. The frame I settled on was the Vamoots Disc RSL because I wanted my FR2W in titanium with disc brakes.
Designing My Moots Vamoots DISC RSL
My WOW Main Aalethial
Now that all the technical stuff was out of the way, I got to choose what my bike would look like. Moots has a variety of finishes that you can choose from. I really wanted a finish called “skyline” because of the various shades of blue but it was discontinued so I had to think of something else. This was supposed to be my “forever” bike. Something that represents who I am, something that I would not get tired of… something blue. This sent me down a little bit of a rabbit hole where I was asking myself existential questions like “who am I?”. My answer to that was “well, you’re a nerd so run with that” and it kind of just popped into my head that I would model this new bike off of my World of Warcraft character who is a Night Elf hunter and tie in my love of supernatural fiction.
Noro lim roughly translates to “ride swiftly”
I chose the anodized frost blue with navy blue Chris King accents. Since this was not blue enough for me, I also chose to get navy blue Hope disc rotors. Since my saddle was holographic, I also ordered holographic bar tape and oil slick bottle cages to match. I saw on Moots’ Instagram that the custom bike Reggie Miller ordered had the words “boombaby” written on the top tube so I asked if I could get something written also. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted my bike to say and finally came up with a phrase in Elvish that I thought would be perfect: noro lim. Ride Swiftly. You might recognize this phrase from Lord of the Rings.
Trying To Get Parts During a Pandemic
All the people that built my frame
My order was placed in October 2020 and I was told that it would take a few months for my frame to be built. Each frame that Moots makes is handcrafted in Colorado so I knew I was in for a little bit of a wait. What I did not expect was that components for my bike would be insanely backordered or just flat out not available.
Originally I was going to use Shimano Di2 because that was what I have on Luna and I had grown accustomed to that system. Unfortunately, by the time my frame arrived in February, the groupset I wanted was still unavailable so I decided to switch gears. SRAM Force AXS was available so I went with that. My concern was that the shifters for the hydraulic disc brakes were significantly more bulbous than on a Shimano system and my hands are small so it would be very uncomfortable.
I had Shimano hydraulic disc brakes on my Canyon and I have SRAM hydraulic disc brakes on my Liv Brava SLR so I was able to compare the difference. The hoods really start to bother my hands on my gravel bike so I figured that if I went with mechanical disc brakes, I could have more comfortable hoods though I would be compromising stopping power. To get around that, I went with TRP HY/RD Cable actuated hydraulic disc brakes. These brakes and the Hope navy blue rotors were sold out but I was able to find some new on eBay.
Cute little Moots details and TRP brakes
After reading a review that Corey wrote about Hunt Wheels, I decided that I would buy a set of those for this bike. I wanted alloy rims because I was afraid that I would accidentally crack carbon if I got those but I also wanted them to be lightweight and not break the bank. The Aero Light Disc Wheelset was exactly that so I ordered it. Because I had switched from Shimano to SRAM, I also had to order a new freehub.
With all the parts ordered, all I had to do was sit back and wait for them to come in and ACME to build it up.
New Bike Day
After waiting 7 months since my bike fit, the day finally arrived where my bike was ready to be picked up. I was so nervous and excited. What if she didn’t fit right? What if the ride wasn’t great? Did I spend too much money on this? I had sold two of my bikes and a bunch of gear to be able to afford this, so I was really hoping that it was worth it.
40th anniversary plate
Full of nervous energy, I opened the door to ACME and stepped inside. Jon and Adrian (the mechanic) greeted me and showed me my new bike. She was beautiful. Jon put her on the trainer so he could make some final adjustments and make sure my saddle position was correct before I left. I was so relieved that my initial bike fit resulted in a bike that fit perfectly. I thanked them and pretty much ran out the door because I was so eager to ride this bike for the first time. I turned onto a particularly potholed road and was blown away by how I hardly even noticed riding over them. This bike was so much smoother than Luna. I smiled the entire way home.
Initial Impressions
To date, I have only put ~250 miles on my Moots because I refuse to commute to work on her but I do have some initial impressions based on a few 40+ mile rides.
1) The ride is REALLY smooth. Yes, I do still feel the road, but I don’t feel the vibrations in my hands and uneven pavement barely registers. Over the weekend, I rode the little gravel trail next to The Market as well as the gravel trail from Rockland Lake to Nyack and I can’t even begin to describe how well this bike handled it. When I have ridden these trails on my FR2W, I bumped along and my hands eventually went a little numb. I felt none of that on the Moots. It was smooth sailing.
2) SRAM AXS shifts differently than Shimano Di2. Because SRAM only has two paddles instead of four buttons, the system has to make sure that you want to up/downshift instead of going from big to little ring which causes a tiny pause between shifts. Shimano does shift noticeably faster in my opinion. Its like -click- -shift- compared to -click- - - -shift- for SRAM. Because it is not instantaneous, it always feels like the shift occurs as I’m on the downstroke so it gives it a smoother feel. I also think that the way SRAM shifts is more intuitive. I did buy a spare battery though because I have heard many stories of people getting stuck on rides and I don’t want that to happen to me. I do have both systems on my bikes and both systems are great.
Taking some pics
3) This bike rolls fast! I could not believe how fast I was going on the downhills and I’m not sure if I should attribute that to the wheels, the frame being a little heavier, or both. Either way, I love it! Speaking of wheels, I am very impressed with Hunt. The value is great. High quality wheels at an affordable price that perform exactly how you want them to.
4) This bike is perfectly balanced and does not feel back heavy. Every bike I have ridden kinda feels like the back is dragging on climbs even if the bike is lightweight. The Moots is definitely heavier than the carbon framed bikes I have owned but the center of gravity feels like it is more in the middle rather than towards the back on a hill. That being said, I would not say that this is a bike for climbing, but because it is not back heavy, it is enjoyable.
5) Hydraulic disc brakes have more stopping power than mechanical disc brakes but the TRP HY/RD is a close second. I feel more confident on this bike knowing that I can actually stop.
6) For me, it is worth every penny.
Sasha’s Moots Vamoots DISC RSL Specs:
Frameset: Moots Vamoots Disc RSL with Frost Blue Anodized Finish, 48cm
Seatpost: Moots seat post with Frost Blue Anodized Finish
Fork: Moots Flat Mount Disc Road Carbon
Groupset: SRAM Force AXS
Gearing: SRAM Force XG-1270 10-28
Cranks: SRAM Force DUB GLS 48/35T, 165mm
Chain: SRAM Force AXS 12 Speed
Stem: Thomson Elite X2, -70mm
Bars: Zipp SL Service Course 70, 36cm
Bar Tape: Specialized S-Wrap HD Tape, Holographic Reflective
Headset: Chris King, Navy
BB: SRAM DUB BSA 68/73
Wheels: Hunt Aero Light Disc
Tires: Vittoria Rubino Pro Control G2.0
Rotors: Hope Floating Disc Brake Rotor, 6-bolt, 140mm - Blue
Brakes: TRP HY/RD Hydraulic Disc Brake
Saddle: Specialized Toupe Pro, Holographic, 143cm
Bottle Cages: Supacaz TiFly, Oil Slick
Build and fit: ACME Bicycle Co
~Full time NYC teacher. Amateur cyclist. Mother of cats. Avid world traveler~
